Inspiration part I

A few weeks before I started this blog, I was reading the blog of a guy who posts at a message board I also go to. In it, he listed off the things that inspired him. It was done as one of those “suggested reading” that pop up in some roleplaying books. I was going to do that on my old blog as an Androidtainment article, but that was also around the time I decided I really didn’t want to write Androidtainment anymore. Anyway, for everyone’s consideration, I’m going to take his idea and write about what gives me my inspiration.

Movies
The Good, the Bad and the Ugly: The quintessential western. After years of being hounded by friends and family to watch the damn thing, I borrowed a copy from a friend, burrowed in my room one night when everyone else was sick and had one epic ride. This movie drove a lot of concepts for my Dungeons and Dragons setting, particularly on the Germanian frontier. It also helped me a bit with scope. As epic as the movie is, it’s really about these three guys. It’s one of those movies that helped me realize that the characters are the important part of the story.  This has helped for fiction writing and DMing.

Iron Man: I always love redemption stories, and Iron Man is a good one, but that isn’t the thing that sets my imagination aflame.  No, instead, it’s the tech.  I don’t normally go in for special effects, but the way they introduced some of Stark’s toys got me thinking.  I loved the JARVIS system (particularly the smart-ass personality) and Tony’s operating system.  I’m also partial to the Arc Reactor as well, because I think more things should be powered solely by mad scientist-esque lightning generators.  When I write, the tech level from Iron Man is what I like to extrapolate from, at least from a visual stand point.

The Departed: For all my love of Batman and noir stories, I’ve seen very few actual crime movies.  This one is my favorite.  Other than helping get some insight into how organized crime works, the characters are nice and complex and flawed.  When I think of this movie, I think of humans; imperfect but capable of great strength.

Comics

the Sandman: As if it’s any surprise.  The Sandman took me off guard when I first read it, mostly because of the whole “All Myths Are True” aspect (no TV Trope link today, too tired).  The more I got into it, the more I got engrossed in the nonlinear storytelling and complex characters.  Sure, it’s a bit pretentious, but it’s the story that opened me back up to fey creatures and nightmares.  The Sandman changed my concept of fantasy beyond simple knights and dragons and damsels.  It showed me that worlds of magic and dreams can be much more, and can be much darker, and lighter, than I originally thought possible.  While other things on the list brought me to new places, the Sandman was the thing that unlocked my imagination.

All Star Superman: I don’t get inspiration from this per se, but when I think of heroic, altruistic characters, I think of Grant Morrision’s superman and use him as a measuring stick.  This Superman is the ultimate in good nature and altruism, always looking for the correct solution and striving to do the right thing.  He makes me ponder what is right and what is wrong and how I go about doing the former instead of the latter.

Planetary: This is the book of weird science.  Every time I read it, Warren Ellis gives me new ideas.  Anything crazy or insane I’ve come up with, Ellis topped.  It showed me that going over-the-top and beyond the impossible is never enough.  It also reminds me to write what I want and to use my own voice rather than going for something else.

Runaways: Runaways is one of the best ensemble comics around, and that really helps me stay in touch with multiple characters.  However, what really get my juices flowing is how the kids interact with one another and how they challenge our expectations.  I think that’s particularly important.

Girl Genius: Girl Genius introduced me to steampunk and it’s changed my life.  No other work of fiction has had such an impact on my Dungeons and Dragons setting except for Discworld.  Girl Genius is funny, weird and always makes me think.

Anime

Sonic the Hedgehog (OAV): I’ve seen this movie more times than I can count.  It’s not that good, the plot is weak and the characters are boring, but god damn is the scenery amazing.  I mean the cities in the Earth of the Skies look amazing, exactly what I imagined the Sonic world to look like.  The world is really imaginative and cool looking.  I just wish the rest of the movie, and the game universe, was that cool.

Robotech: This was my first anime, and it introduced me to the concept of the giant robot genre.  I know all about the bastardization that Robotech is, but for some reason, I prefer it, and its sequels to the Macross continuity.  When I think of giant robots and war movies, Robotech is what I think about.  I try to watch the series once a year.

Record of Lodoss War: While I’m not the biggest fan of traditional fantasy, Lodoss War is that one exception (other than Lord of the Rings).  The characters are all charming and the setting is kind of neat.  Much like Robotech, I watch it every year, or at least I try to.

Television

Firefly: I like westerns, I like speculative fiction and when you combine them with Joss Whedon, well, you get something really cool.  I really like the look of the frontier worlds.  All of the ships and the core worlds were pretty typical sci-fi fare, but the rim worlds were really cool.  That dusty, Wild West look is what I thought of when I was designing Eastern Germanias.  The Alliance was partially responsible for how I view Rhode.

I’ll add some more on Monday.  This post has gone on long enough.